I’ve seen this movie fifty-nine times, but that’s not why it knows me. It’s set in a country that’s not my own, at a time I can only imagine. Mysterious things happen to families unlike families I know—still mysterious on a sixtieth viewing, though I know everything that will happen, and when, and every line. Read the rest of this entry »

Seldom is a second human needed. Even perfect love doesn’t require two. A half-orphan girl may argue with herself, a widow take her own counsel. A husband, who is also a father, may kill both men and himself, without involving another, and leave one body behind. Read the rest of this entry »